INTRODUCTION

   From cars, clothes and even refrigerators to LCD screens, chairs and yes (especially) PC and console peripherals looks play a very important role. It's equally important however to balance things so even though i also care about looks i don't place them nearly as high up as other things, for example build quality, available features and performance. The ideal scenario is of course to have everything and that's not something we see a lot, primarily because of cost. Still there are some manufacturers which are doing their very best to design and develop products that have a good balance between all of the above and i-Rocks claims to have done just that with their latest K71M RGB Illuminated Mechanical Keyboard.

   i-Rocks Technology is founded in Taiwan started from manufacturing OEM products for various technology companies. From then onwards, i-Rocks has established its own brand name, designing and producing IT-related peripherals and accessories for the everyday IT user. Since then, i-Rocks has come a long way since the start of its branding. As the new generation of users are demanding products of higher quality at better value, we needed to push ourselves in the R&D department to exceed expectations of the modern day users. Currently, i-Rocks is focused on manufacturing and providing heavy IT users e.g. professional and casual gamers, IT workers, and gadget fans their required equipment.

   I-Rocks currently makes the K71M RGB Illuminated Mechanical Keyboard available in two colors (black & pink) and has equipped it with Outemu RGB mechanical switches (blue & brown - 50 million actuations), sound-absorbing pad, programmable smart clickable aluminum wheel (very similar to a mouse scroll wheel), RGB LED bars on all sides, per-key RGB illumination (27 effects), detachable USB-c cable, tri-stage feet, 100% anti-ghosting, NKRO (N-Key Rollover) and the somewhat typical 1000Hz polling rate. I-Rocks also has a handy control software from where you can program every single one of the 107 keys found on the K71M, create macros and of course choose an RGB effect or create your very own. This is the very first product I’ve received by i-Rocks so without further delay let's get close and personal with it.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The keyboard is packed inside a colorful box that has a product picture at the front along with the company logo, its main features and the switches used.

Another product picture can be seen at the rear right next to the features, specifications and system requirements list printed in 2 languages.

The K71M is wrapped inside a synthetic cover.

Along with the keyboard and its detachable 1.8 meter long USB-C cable you're only getting a quick installation guide.

THE K71M RGB

Measuring 444mm in length, 155mm in width and 42mm in height the 1.3Kg heavy K71M is a medium sized model.

For good or bad the K71M doesn't follow the typical floating keys design as most current models (notice the LED RGB bar going around the keyboard).

As with most keyboards today the F keys also double as shortcuts so F1-F8 can be used to perform commands and launch applications (desktop/lock system/search/calculator/my computer/email/internet browser/media player) whereas the F9-F12 keys also double as media navigation ones.

Turning the entire RGB system off and on can be done via the print screen and scroll lock keys (as always in combination with the Fn key).

You can also switch between the available RGB effects by using the page up/down, home, end, insert and delete keys.

The brightness levels and effect direction can be controlled by the arrow keys.

On the top right corner, we see the smart clickable aluminum wheel and three small buttons from where you can switch between wheel modes (you can use this with Windows 10).

Here you can see the Outemu RGB Blue mechanical switches.

As you will all see later on the front LED RGB bar looks great when the keyboard is on.

The USB-C port for the detachable cable is located just under the LED RGB bar.

At the base of the keyboard, we find 4 round feet and two height adjusters.

These height adjusters are two-step ones meaning you can check and see which fits your needs more.

The short height adjuster keeps the keyboard roughly 5mm from the desk while the tall height adjuster takes that to roughly 11mm.

I-ROCKS SOFTWARE

The i-Rocks software is very easy to use and from the very first tab you can program each of the available keys with macros, mouse functions and much more as seen above.

From the lighting tab you can choose one of the available effects, change their direction/speed/brightness and of course create your very own.

You may also disable some windows shortcuts from within the gaming mode tab.

As expected from the macro tab in here you can create your very own macros.

For my tests i used v1.15 which was the latest firmware at the time.

As mentioned earlier the RGB lighting system of the K71M looks great largely thanks to the front LED bar.

Minimum and maximum brightness levels can be seen above.

AUDIBLE FEEDBACK

Many people ask my opinion on what keyboard they should get for their needs. Some want a “silent” model for use in their living room or even in their bedroom while others ask for a model with good audible feedback for use in the office or for gaming. Because of this I decided to test keyboards by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically over each keyboard (5cm distance) and typing NikKTech a total of 6 times with each (after that the max recorded number - max hold - is placed in the graph). I have to admit that this methodology may not be 100% accurate but it does give a good idea on what you can expect from each model since aside the type of switches used keycaps and keyboard material also matter.

CONCLUSION

   I-Rocks may not be among the most popular names in the PC peripherals market but their K71M left a very good impression, not only because of its looks (which are quite impressive, even when compared with far more expensive models) but also because of its features (smart clickable wheel – sound absorbing pad) and relatively robust build quality (some parts of the keyboard could be better). The Outemu mechanical switches may not be the best out there currently (certainly not as good as their Cherry MX RGB counterparts) but with a life expectancy of up to 50 million actuations there’s really nothing to be concerned about.

   When it comes to rather new manufacturers cost is something that matters a lot and so I was surprised to see that the K71M retails for USD79.90 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 79.87Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Of course, even this may seem a bit high for some people but if you really take into account what the K71M offers I think it’s pretty much on the spot. All said and done the K71M is a very good mechanical keyboard aimed primarily towards people who care about looks a lot and since I believe it ticks most boxes it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Full RGB Per Key Illumination (27 Effects/RGB LED Bars)
- Outemu Mechanical Switches (50M Actuations)
- Fully Programmable Keys & Smart Wheel
- Features (Detachable USB Cable/Noise Absorbing Pad)
- NKey Rollover With 100% Anti Ghosting
- Available Colors (Black/Pink)

CONS

- No USB Passthrough
- Overall Availability